Your HR and Payroll compliance and policy solution! Comply with federal, state, and international laws, find answers to your most challenging questions, get timely updates with email alerts, and more with our suite of products.

NEWS

Stay informed and ready to meet both everyday challenges and long-term
planning and policy-making goals, with focused news, practical
information, and strategic insights on all HR-related developments.

Dec. 11-- To show the value of workforce diversity, HR needs to present it to
senior management as a revenue-generating function, speakers said Dec. 6 at the
Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Association of African-Americans in
Human Resources' fourth annual Diversity Summit.

“We've been trained to
suppress our differences,” Tyronne Stoudemire, principal at consulting firm
Mercer, said in the keynote address at the Washington, D.C., event. “The truth
is the differences are what make the difference. If organizations don't
understand those differences, they can't gain market share, they can't go after
the right talent, they can't retain talent and therefore cannot be
innovative.”

“There are a slew of companies
that are no longer around because they didn't take into consideration the shift
in demographics in their business strategy,” said Tyronne Stoudemire, a
principal at Mercer.

Employers have to train people
how to think beyond gender, race or disability and give employees the tools to
recognize and leverage those differences, he said. “Someone in the organization
has to be forward thinking enough to be able to harness what's ahead,”
Stoudemire said.

Workplace Barriers Remain

Although there is
evidence demonstrating how a diverse workforce builds a better business,
Stoudemire explained that there are also still conscious and unconscious biases
and barriers within organizations that prevent diversity from truly taking
shape, and companies simply can't afford to let that happen. “There are a slew
of companies that are no longer around because they didn't take into
consideration the shift in demographics in their business strategy,” he
said.

According to Stoudemire, biases are often ingrained in an
organization's social and cultural norms and are often demonstrated in their
hiring practices. For example, he said, if a company only hires from top 10 or
Ivy League schools, “that can prohibit growth by shrinking your pool.”

Pam Green, president and CEO of the Power Project Institute, an HR consulting
firm, said that as the workforce continues to become more racially and
generationally diverse, and as gender identity and disability also grow in
visibility in workplaces, it is increasingly important for employers to develop
a no-tolerance policy that makes the work environment safe and engaging for all
employees.

“In addition to a commitment from leadership, organizations
will have to continue to engage employees who are in under-represented groups
about ideas and suggestions the company can adopt to create more tolerance and
awareness,” Green said.

Employers should update training and development
for leaders and hiring managers, and learn to leverage business opportunities
that come along with having a more diverse pool of talent, she explained.

Making the Case for Diversity

HR needs to present a bottom-line
argument for diversity to senior leaders, Green said. “There are so many
different things to measure that contribute to the bottom line,” she said. “HR
has to do its homework,” she added, to convince senior management of the
business value of diversity.

Because a diverse workforce offers a
difference of experiences, employees are therefore able to see a product or
service from a different point of view, Green explained. “This can help a
company reach a broader audience and leverage that diversity of thought in
creative ways,” she said.

Green encouraged HR practitioners to find out
what business leaders are discussing and to develop a plan on how to solve the
problem from a diversity and inclusion perspective. “This will help leaders
understand the business value of investing in diversity,” she said.

For
HR to convince senior management of the value of diversity, Green said, it
must:

• understand
the business--where the company makes and loses money;

• conduct
its own competitive analysis to help show how company practices stack up to
those of more diverse competitors;

• speak
the CEO's language and provide articles and resources that the CEO reads and
respects; and

• do
the math and provide meaningful measures and metrics beyond cost per hire and
turnover rates.

To contact the reporter on this story: Caryn
Freeman in Washington at cfreeman@bna.com

To contact the editor responsible
for this story: Simon Nadel at snadel@bna.com

All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA’s book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you’ve previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we’ll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It’s as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you’re relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to books@bna.com.

Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)

Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).

This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to research@bna.com.

Put me on standing order

Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)